Bottom-up study into the personal contributions of Dutch colonial agent François Caron (1600-1673) and local patrons to the formation of favourable diplomatic relations between the Dutch East India...Show moreBottom-up study into the personal contributions of Dutch colonial agent François Caron (1600-1673) and local patrons to the formation of favourable diplomatic relations between the Dutch East India Company and the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan in the period precluding Dutch confinement on the island of Deshima, Nagasaki. This contribution demonstrates that when the Tokugawa Shogunate began to redefine the conditions of foreign trade and diplomatic relations with Japan during the early seventeenth century, it was only one of several actors involved in this process. The local Dutch factory, led by the charismatic cultural broker Caron, also had a voice in this process through its powerful allies at court which Caron accumulated over the course of a single decade, allowing them to secure a position for the Dutch East India Company in Japan after 1641. It challenges the predominant theory that the Dutch owed their success in Japan to a pragmatic approach to trade which eschewed proselytization of the Christian faith by raising attention to the importance of systems of patronage and the efficiency of local agency in Japan and the broader early-modern colonial context.Show less
The aim of this thesis is to study the intra-Asian textile trade of the Dutch East India Company (De Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie, hereafter VOC) between the VOC’s establishment in the...Show moreThe aim of this thesis is to study the intra-Asian textile trade of the Dutch East India Company (De Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie, hereafter VOC) between the VOC’s establishment in the Coromandel region in the southeastern coast of India and the VOC’s regional establishment at Makassar on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia during the eighteenth century. This thesis focusses primarily on the commercial dynamics of the VOC’s trade in Coromandel textiles to Makassar. The core of the thesis is built upon the trade analysis of the distribution of Coromandel textiles by the VOC in Makassar during the eighteenth century on the basis of the richness of the VOC’s bookkeeping records. The study aims to give an account of the different textile varieties the VOC traded in and the underlying rationale that governed the VOC’s commercial policy of trading in specific categories of Coromandel textiles. Therefore, this study also negotiates the modalities of the VOC’s policy that informed the trade in Coromandel textiles to Makassar during the eighteenth century. The study is situated within the realm of growing literature on the intra-Asian trade of the VOC and hopes to make a contribution to the existing historiographical discourse on the intra-Asian textile trade of the VOC.Show less
This thesis unearths the reasons and process behind the late eighteenth century codification projects of the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) and examines their translation into legal practice in...Show moreThis thesis unearths the reasons and process behind the late eighteenth century codification projects of the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) and examines their translation into legal practice in colonial court. Drawing from records of official correspondence and original civil and criminal case files archived at the Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia (Jakarta) and the Nationaal Archief (The Hague), it presents an analysis of (Dutch) colonial legal practice in a legally plural environment in which both colonial structures of power and local agency are considered.Show less
This paper reconstructs the course of events during a hitherto little known dispute between the VOC and the court of Siam (Ayutthaya) between 1741-1747. The paper explores various themes, among...Show moreThis paper reconstructs the course of events during a hitherto little known dispute between the VOC and the court of Siam (Ayutthaya) between 1741-1747. The paper explores various themes, among them cultural incommensurability and early modern 'corruption'. The hidden political life of the Siamese court is uncovered as the various officials and intermediaries involved appear to conduct their own businesses behind the back of the much glorified 'absolute' king Borommakot. At the same time, the envoys of the VOC appear to be conducting private business. Ultimately, this paper provides insights in the nature of Siamese political culture during the 'golden age' of Ayutthaya, based on evidence gained from Dutch sources.Show less
